Reviews with content warning for War - The Witch and the Tsar

3.5 stars

I think I would have been more receptive to this book if Russia wasn't currently being a prick and instigating a war in Ukraine, or if the story of the Baba Yaga was set in a different Eastern European location.

It was the tale of the Baba Yaga that drew me to this book. I used to live in Poland and heard tales of the infamous witch, the Baba Yaga. I love retellings and fairytales, and enjoy a good feminist retelling. I was intrigued to read a feminist version of this Slavic witch. However, I'm not sure Gilmore's Baba Yaga really lived up to my expectations...

I expected a good old fashioned redemption story. I am a sucker for both redemption stories and a villain's backstory. In fact, these are among my favourite tropes. Often the bad buy with the secret heart of gold is my favourite character, and tales that surround them fascinate me (think Lucifer, Crowley from Supernatural, Damon, Regina the Evil Queen...). So this one seemed very much my thing.

But then I read it, and Baba Yaga was just... Yaga. There was no redemption, at least not for her. There was no backstory. There was no "and this is all the bad shit that happened to me to get me here" or "this is who I really am but I'm misunderstood because of XYZ." Yaga was just nice. Nothing like the stories that cast her as a dark witch.

God after god was thrown at the reader, as were human characters, real and imagined. Every character had at least two or even three names. So many folkloric places were also included. So complex was it that she had to include a glossary – too bad it was at the end and I didn't realise it was there until I was halfway through. It was hard to keep track of it all. It was like Gilmore didn't know if she wanted to be Neil Gaiman in American Gods or Madeline Miller's Greek retellings, and in trying to do both, she succeeded in neither one.

The slightly whimsical purple prose did not allow me to be immersed as much as I'd want, and felt like the story was constantly keeping me at a distance. Plus, the Russian setting didn't add any favours. Over all, I really wanted to like it, and while I didn't dislike it, it wasn't the Baba Yaga story I was looking for.

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christiepb's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

As someone who knows next to nothing about Russian folklore I absolutely loved this book; I have seen other reviews from more knowledgeable people who didn’t like the artistic license taken (which I get). However I think it’s a sign of a good story when I am sad that it ended and wish there was a second instalment!

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cookiecat73's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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tamara_joy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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antimony's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

reminder to my future self that if a book mentions someone vying for power in the summary i will not enjoy myself while reading it. even if it has baba yaga. i don't like reading about nobility i don't like fantasy politics i don't like strategizing and battles and war. and the romance was nonsense it felt like ya-levels of fake and shoehorned. sorry!

the feminism also felt like very ya. like yaga oftentimes felt like when people try to write feminism into their historical fiction but give the character a very modern view of things instead of a view that would fit into the times while still wanting a better life for women. AND she spends so long talking about how she doesn't want to get married, she doesn't need a man, marriage is just a way for her to be trapped, and then falls in instalove with a guy she has no chemistry with and gets pregnant and gets married and has a kid and is obsessed with this man for no reason. and no one has any personality!!!! :(

additionally . how in the world was this so slow for covering a timeline of twenty years :/ so maybe it was boring on its own not just because of the war.

ALSO what olesya salnikova gilmore wanted to do with subverting baba yaga stories that were told by christians to make her into an evil witch instead of a nice healer with pagan roots was like. nice idea i guess. but to be perfectly honest. i love evil baba yaga that eats kids and has skulls on her house etc. and there was not nearly enough time spent with her house i love her house :( and this did not feel like it was about baba yaga at ALL!

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